David Leib Genuth (April 12, 1901 Középvisó,

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– February 23, 1974

Shaker Heights, Ohio Shaker Heights is a city in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city's population was 29,439. Shaker Heights is an inner-ring streetcar suburb of Cleveland, abutting the eastern edge of the c ...

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) was one of Cleveland's most influential Orthodox rabbis for more than 40 years.

Early life

Genuth was the son of Isaac Genuth and Elka Kaner (granddaughter of Rabbi Yehuda Modern, head of the Yeshiva in Sighet). He emigrated to the United States in 1922.

Education

Genuth was a student at the

Yeshiva A yeshiva (; ; pl. , or ) is a traditional Jewish educational institution focused on the study of Rabbinic literature, primarily the Talmud and halacha (Jewish law), while Torah and Jewish philosophy are studied in parallel. The stu ...

of the Grand Rabbi of

Vișeu de Sus Vișeu de Sus (; ; ; ; or ''Ober Wisho'' or ''Ojberwischo'') is a town in Maramureș County, Maramureș, Romania, located at the confluence of the rivers Vișeu and Vaser. It administers one village, Vișeu de Mijloc (''Középvisó''). The town ...

before emigrating to the United States in 1922. He continued his studies at the graduate school of

Yeshiva University Yeshiva University is a Private university, private Modern Orthodox Judaism, Orthodox Jewish university with four campuses in New York City.

in New York, the Yeshiva in New Haven, Connecticut, and the

Yale University Divinity School Yale Divinity School (YDS) is one of the twelve graduate and professional schools of Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. Congregational church, Congregationalist theological education was the motivation at the founding of Yale, and the pr ...

. Genuth was ordained in 1926.

Professional life

In 1930, Genuth was appointed as the first Rabbi of Beth Israel Synagogue in Norwalk, Connecticut where he was an active supporter of the Norwalk Hospital. In 1931 he moved to Cleveland and in 1933 he was appointed the first rabbi at the Kinsman Jewish Center. At the Kinsman Jewish Center, whose membership included many members of the radical Labor Movement, Genuth created an important congregation by applying a modern view of Orthodoxy. In 1950, after a disagreement with board members, Genuth left the Kinsman Jewish Center with eight families establishing Temple Beth El which described itself as "egalitarian/traditional" and was particularly notable for its seating of men and women together. The congregation moved into its building on Chagrin Blvd in 1954 - the first synagogue within the city limits of Shaker Heights. Genuth served as Temple Beth El's sole rabbi until his death in 1974. Throughout the 1930s, Genuth was active with the Orthodox Jewish Children's Home and the Mt. Pleasant Consumptive Ladies Aid Society. Genuth was also active in aiding the United Order of True Sisters, the

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and was an organizer of the Jewish Community Council serving as a representative to its delegate assembly. Genuth served as chaplain for Jewish patients at Highland View Hospital. He later served on the hospital's chapel building committee which accepted his recommendation for a revolving pulpit to accommodate Jewish patients. Genuth gave monthly lectures at the Montefiore Home.

Views

A lifelong Zionist, Genuth was a member of the Cleveland Zionist Society, attending their first organizing meeting at the behest of Rabbi Abba Hillel Silver, and was an active supporter of the

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and

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Personal life

Genuth married Anna Einhorn (daughter of Reverend Chaim Einhorn) on February 2, 1929. They had three children. Saul, Phyllis Genuth and Esther. Genuth's parents and two of his three siblings were murdered in

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. Genuth died on February 23, 1974.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Genuth, David L. 1901 births 1974 deaths People from Vișeu de Sus Romanian emigrants to the United States American Orthodox rabbis 20th-century American rabbis